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This site contains a collection of techniques for barbecuing, smoking and cooking over fire. The techniques shown here are not the only way or the best way to prepare a certain item. This site is just a starting point and these techniques are a guide to creating your own recipes. Recipes included here come not only from personal experiences, but from many knowledgeable folks kind enough to share their secrets.
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Several rub recipes are first, followed by some thoughts, uses and recipes for curing saltsThe history and traffic in spices goes back to the days before recorded history. In ancient times, pepper for example, was more valuable than gold and only available to the upper class. Columbus arrived in America while searching for a direct route to the Spice Islands. Many early Americans made their fortunes as spice merchants. Today, with our various cultures and regional tastes, the United States is the world’s major spice buyer.Let’s face it, seasonings make food taste better. When it comes to spices, we are very lucky. Spices from around the world are at our fingertips and they are affordable! When it comes to barbecue, several regions across the United States have developed a footprint or theme particular to local tastes. Kansas City, Memphis, the Carolina’s, Texas, and California combine barbecue methods with certain spice blends, generally referred to as “rubs”. There are many fine commercial rubs on the market with a huge variety of flavors. With a little guidance, the back yard pit master can experiment and develop home made rubs too. Get to know your spice options, here is a glossary of spices that is very useful. Below are some starter rubs that will help you develop your own rubs. Keep in mind that larger things like ribs, butts and brisket will be cooked for long periods of time, and the method might involve a foil step or maybe saucing, therefore a slight over-seasoning might be necessary. The amounts of ingredients are just a guide. Experiment by adding or subtracting one or two things at a time. Try to get the freshest spices you can find. Use caution when measuring salts because the type and even brand of salt will make a difference. 1 tablespoon of granular salt = 1-1/2 tablespoons of Morton's Kosher or 2 tablespoons of Diamond Crystal Kosher. TIP: Use only one brand of Kosher salt, and your seasonings will be more consistant. In rub recipes below calling for Kosher salt, Morton's brand is used. When sea salt is called out, a course grind is used unless fine is specified.

The Basic Rub – About as easy as it gets
Ingredients:
Salt
Pepper

Combine amounts to taste and apply directly to the meat just before cooking. Variations of salt include sea salt, Kosher salt or smoked salts. Try to avoid iodized salt. Variations to pepper include black pepper, white pepper, red pepper and the grinds can be fine or coarse. Fresh cracked pepper will be more flavorful. Other variations: Try adding some garlic powder or maybe some onion powder, paprika, chili powder or some sugar. Okay, you see where I'm headed........

Garlic Pepper - I use a lot of garlic pepper... on vegetables, in chicken or tuna salad, salmon & trout, and on other meats of all kinds. On my BBQ meats, garlic pepper is an important layer under most other rubs. Store bought garlic pepper varies from brand to brand but the bottom line is... for as simple as it is, store bought garlic pepper is expensive. Below are my two recipes. One is sweet for use on ribs, butts, and other cuts of pork. The second is an all-purpose blend for use on anything that you don't want sugar on. These recipes make about 1.5 ounces, which is about 1/3 of a standard spice bottle full.

Burn's Best Brisket RubJim Burns is a past president of the National Barbecue Association. Rub about three quarters of this rub onto the brisket and cook until the internal temperature is 165°. Remove brisket, sprinkle with the remaining rub, wrap in foil and return to the cooker. Cook until a probe will slide in the brisket with little resistance. Rest and slice.
Ingredients:

Here is Jim Goode’s BBQ Beef Rub. It can be used when low salt is desired. The sugar in the rub will brown and make a "carmelized crust" when using higher cook temperatures. It has been posted for quite a few years on The BBQ Forum. It inspired a similar rub known as JJ’s Rub which is exactly the same with 1-1/2 teaspoons of rosemary added.Jim Goode's BBQ Beef Rub"This beef rub is great for beef, pork and lamb. Once you mix the spices they'll keep about 4 months in an airtight jar. When ready to use, just rub into the meat, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate the night before grilling."Jim Goode
Original recipe yield: 3 /4 cup.

Montreal Steak Rub – A coarse rub based on the "pickling rub" used to make Montreal smoked meat, which was made famous by Schwartz's deli. It is also called Canadian rub. This rub is suited for beef, but also good on pork, chicken and potatoes.

DRY CURING - APPLICATIONS and GENERAL THOUGHTS - This section will discuss the uses of curing agents as well as a few starter recipes. I use dry cures to make smoked trout, smoked salmon, Buckboard or Canadian style bacon, belly bacon, pastrami, beef jerky and sausage. Specific recipes for these uses are on other pages, but I wanted to have some general information in one place.

Dry cures are a rub of sorts, the main differences between the two are: 1. Dry cures are mostly salt and sugar. 2. Dry cures generally contain nitrates, nitrites or both. 3. Dry cures are applied 3 to 10 days before smoking. 4. Dry cures change the texture, flavor and color of the meat. 4. Dry cures have specific applications. 5. Amount of dry cures are not interchangeable between types.

Dry cures come in three forms:
1. Tenderquick - This is a Morton Salt product for home curing. It contains salt, 0.5% nitrite, 0.5% nitrate and sugar. Usage: 1 tablespoon per pound of whole muscle meat. 1.5 teaspoon per pound of ground meat.

2. Cure #1 (Prague #1, Instacure #1) - This is a pink colored curing salt used by professionals and people comfortable with using advanced techniques at home. It is used when the product will be cooked. Uses for Cure #1 are hams, bacon, sausage, corned beef and so on. Usage: 1 level teaspoon for 5 pounds of meat.

3. Cure #2 (Prague #2, Instacure #2) - This is a pink colored curing salt used by professionals and people comfortable with using advanced techniques at home. This cure is used when products are not cooked. Uses for Cure #2 are hard salami and some of the special Italian cured meats. Usage: Follow directions for a proven recipe.